By james art It’s still early days for the Jordan Smith Jr. sweepstakes. Regardless, it’s safe to say that the Duke basketball team is as active as any in the pursuit of Paul VI (Va.) Catholic High School junior honors.
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Smith, a five-star guard who is ranked No. 7 and No. 1 in Virginia in the 247Sports 2026 Composite, began his weekend visit with the Blue Devils on Friday. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound turbocharged talent posted a photo from atop Duke Chapel to announce his arrival on campus.
Two 2024-25 Duke basketball freshmen are expected to step in when it comes to making Smith feel at home in Durham. After all, guard/forward Darren Harris and center Patrick Ngongba II were Smith’s teammates last season at pipeline school Blue Devil Paul VI Catholic.
Louisville, Georgetown, Arkansas, Kentucky and Syracuse are the other particularly active suitors for Jordan Smith Jr. But he has over a dozen offers, including one from the UNC basketball coaching staff about 10 miles down Tobacco Road from Duke.
NEWS: 2026 5⭐️ Jordan Smith Jr. (@sm23itty) is on the Duke campus for an official visit, he said @LeagueRDY.
Smith is a well-built two-way guard who is a threat on both ends of the floor. Extremely high level athlete who can rebound, defend, score inside and knock down… pic.twitter.com/kVHibCpzfk
— 24/7 High School Hoops (@247HSHoops) November 1, 2024
Smith received his offer from third-year Blue Devil coach John Scheier in late July.
“Duke is a rich program,” Smith pointed out to ZAGSBLOG’s Matt Whitfield recently while showing off his strong play on both ends of the floor at the USA Basketball Junior National Team’s October minicamp in Colorado Springs, Colorado. “It’s a Paul VI plan, people say, I just like it.”
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Stay tuned SI’s Duke Blue Devils for more Duke basketball recruiting news.